Munkar and Nakir

Munkar and Nakir are the names of two angels who come to the dead man in his grave and question him about his Lord, his religion and his prophet, as came in a sound hadith in al-Bukhari and Muslim. They were named that because they repudiate on the dead what is repudiated of speech, or because they are entrusted with repudiating what the servant repudiated of truth ^{1 2}.

• In Sahih al-Bukhari from al-Bara' ibn 'Azib on the description of the Day of Judgment and the trial of the grave: God sends to the servant in his grave two angels who question him "Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your prophet?" If he says "I believe in God..." ¹.
• In Sahih Muslim from the hadith of 'A'isha on the description of the trial of the grave: "When the servant is placed in his grave... two angels come to him and sit at his feet and say: What did you used to say about this man?" ².
• In Muslim's narration the two angels question him "Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your prophet?" and sit on his chest ².
• In a narration that if the dead man is righteous he says "I believe in God..." and it is said to him "sleep, righteous one..." and in a narration "Open for him a door to Paradise" ².
• It occurs in hadith that Munkar and Nakir are named by these two names in the Qur'an and the Sunna, and in a narration "their names are Munkar and Nakir" ^{1 2}.
• In al-Tirmidhi's narration in the hadith of the grave: "Every servant has two angels who question him" ³.

• "Munkar" in the language is an active participle of "ankara", meaning he denies a thing and rejects it; and "Nakir" is a verbal noun meaning denial and censure ⁴.
• And they were named by these two names because their work is repudiating the servant, or because they repudiate on him whatever he does not know the answer to, or because they are entrusted with repudiating the wrongs in the grave ⁵.
• Some said: "Munkar" with the mim opened and "Nakir" with the nun — and the naming is on the pattern "munkir" and "nakir" to indicate the two repudiators ⁴.

Ibn Kathir details the hadith of the grave, and mentions that the two angels who question him are Munkar and Nakir, and that they question him about his Lord, his religion and his prophet, and that if he is a disbeliever they punish him ⁵. And al-Qurtubi held that the questioners in the grave are Munkar and Nakir, and that they are angels ⁴.

• In Muslim's narration they are "black-faced" and it was said "dark-complexioned" — and the opinions on their description differ, and what is narrated in the two Sahihs is their names and their work, not their description ^{2 5}.
• In a narration they "bear witness to what the servant says of his habits" at his death ⁶ — on the narration of the Muwatta.
• And there was disagreement over whether they are two angels or two jinn, and the principle is that they are two angels because they are in the context of the angels entrusted ⁵.

• If the dead man answers rightly, the doors of Paradise are opened for him, and if he errs the doors of the Fire are opened for him, in the hadith of the grave ².
• And among the conduct of the Salaf is that the Muslim, when passing a cemetery, asks God to make them steadfast and forgive them, and prays for the dead that Munkar and Nakir question them and they answer ⁷.

• The two names are established in hadith without disagreement over the naming, even if there was disagreement over the derivation.
• They are among the greatest of what is mentioned of the angels' works in the grave, and in them appears the attachment to what the servant said of faith or unbelief ⁵.
• Their companions in the grave are the two angels of mercy and punishment in another narration ^{1 2}.